by Celeste Raye
Lois thrashed and screamed. Dana, gassed to placidity, sat in a chair seeing nothing of Lois’ struggles. Clara couldn’t look away from that pained and awful writhing. She whispered, “Help her. Please.”
Marik nodded. He knelt beside Lois and used a syringe to administer the dosage. Dana’s other daughter was nowhere in sight, and Clara hoped she did not return anytime soon either. This was enough of a nightmare.
Lois died in a matter of a second. Clara’s hands dug at her clothing then she pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, grinding them against the bones of her eye sockets. Even that was not enough to keep the tears from falling.
Renall’s arms went around her. She let him hold her. Jeval said, “We have to talk to her now while she is under and may be able to answer.”
Renall’s hands came up and smoothed Clara’s hair away from her face. She sobbed against his chest, not caring that her tough façade had cracked, not caring that she was in the arms of the being who just kept taking her heart and breaking it. She hurt so much in so many ways that all she could do was lean against him and let the tears flow and the sobs come and sound out.
His body rocked hers gently. His arms held her within his embrace, and his scent filled her nostrils. She knew she should back away, let go and keep on letting go of him until she was really done with him. He was the worst thing she could do to herself. He held way too many cards. She couldn’t win his love, and he didn’t want hers. But no matter how true those thoughts were, her hands held on; and he held onto her in return.
Her sobs began to taper off. Marik and Talon carefully and gently lifted Lois’ limp body and left with it. Clara didn’t have to be told she would be taken to the rejuvenator fields to be turned into fertilizer for the planet’s greenbelts. She didn’t need to be told, and she did not want to know either.
Jeval knelt down in front of Dana. He spoke softly. “I need you to speak with me.”
“All right.” Dana’s wide and unseeing eyes stared past Jeval at nothing.
Jeval asked, “What is your name?”
“Dana.”
“How many daughters have you?”
“Two Sanara and Lois. Lois is dead though.”
Clara jumped. A cry broke from her mouth. She had thought that Dana, deeply gassed, would not be able to see that, and knowing she had cut like a blade. Then Dana spoke again.
Dana said, “It was the fever. I asked her father, my husband, to take a debt for us. To get her into a medi-center and medicine. He said he would, but instead he took on a hunger debt.”
“Lois is dead?” Jeval pressed on.
Dana nodded. “The fever took her. But…” Her eyes blinked, slow and steady. “They brought her back.”
Jeval asked, “Who brought her back?”
“The…”Dana frowned again. Her tongue touched her lip. “Her. Jessica. She brought her back. Said she was Lois.”
Jessica? Clara’s eyes widened. Renall caught his breath. But the most startling reaction came from Talon. He paled and sucked in air. Jeval shot all of them a warning look then asked, “Dana, was it Lois she brought back?”
Dana nodded happily. “Yes. Lois is my daughter. She was sick. Now she is not.”
Renall said, to Talon, “Get Jessica in here now.”
Talon said, “Renall, I warn you. Don’t harm her.”
Electric tension hit the air. Clara looked from Talon to Renall. Something was going on, but she was too weary and sickened by the sudden death to try to understand what it was. Renall spoke softly. “I do not intend to harm her. None of us do.”
Talon went. Jeval asked Dana, “You said Jessica?”
Dana nodded. “But not Jessica. She was…” A vague look filled Dana’s face. She didn’t go on.
Renall released Clara. The heat of his body stayed on her skin, and she clung to that phantom warmth. She felt adrift and lost now, alone in a way she could not even explain.
Talon came back. Jessica stopped and gawked at them all. “What is it?”
Jeval placed two fingers below Dana’s nostrils. He said, “The gas is wearing off. She’s breathing more normally.”
Renall said, “Jessica, we need to know who Lois really was.”
Jessica’s face went white. “Was?”
“She was a cycle spy,” Talon said without even trying to soften the words. “You brought her to Dana. We need to know why.”
Jessica said, “I don’t know. I don’t even recall doing so. I will believe you that I did, but why I could not say.”
Renall said, “Clara, are you all right?”
She’d been swaying on her feet. She quickly gathered her courage. She said, “I am. Is Dana?”
Jeval said, “She will sleep once the gas starts to wear off.”
Clara licked her lips. “What do we tell her about Lois?”
“That she had the fever. That it must have come with her and taken her very suddenly.” That came from Marik. He added, “And that we did not let her suffer. We will also tell Dana she has the fever and quarantine her for a short time just so I can watch her to make certain her memory wipe does not unravel. Or the implants, whichever needs the most attention.”
He said, “I’ll take her now. Talon, you help me.”
It was an order, and they all knew it. Talon dug his heels in. “I think I would rather stay.”
Marik said, “I need your help now.”
Talon relented. He gave Jessica a long look as he passed her. Jeval said, “Jessica, you know I can drift dream, don’t you?”
She nodded. Fear showed on her face as she watched Talon and Marik lead the stunned Dana from the room. “I have heard you could.”
Jeval said, “I need inside your mind.”
Jessica flinched. So did Clara. That seemed so personal! Jessica said, “I would like to know too. So go ahead.”
Clara held her breath as Jeval began. She wondered if perhaps Renall was possessed of the same ability. Could that be that strong magnetic pull she always felt for him?
No.
She could wish it was, but that was not it at all. She was drawn to him because she was attracted by his kindness and his sense of justice and fairness. She was drawn to him because he was attractive and warm.
Oh is so fair? That little voice came back into her head, mocking her. He offered you the chance to be his whore but not his wife. He won’t break that pact because it means more to him than anyone and anything, including you. If he were so fair, he would simply hand you that crypto file and your mother’s chamber keys and let you go with the credits you have earned, just like you told him. But had he offered to do that? No. He will leave her, and he will leave you behind and all so he can fulfill his dreams and without you.
Her emotions were too conflicted where he was concerned. One more reason to just leave him alone. To try to find a way to get the file and her mother and flee from Orbitary and him. She could figure out another way to get the rest of her family out of serio-max if she had to.
Then Jessica began to speak, and Clara forgot about all of that. “She’s Halsey Miggs.”
Halsey Miggs? The daughter of the highest governor? That made no sense at all. Why would…? Clara looked over at Renall. He looked as confused as she did.
Jeval asked, “Why did you take her to the seamstress?”
“I was trying to save her life.” Jessica wore the same vague and un-present look that Dana had worn. It was eerie and slightly frightening. Clara drew closer to Renall, but that time he did not reach for her. In fact, he stepped closer to Jeval—and away from her, making her heart plummet all over again.
Renall said, “Why was her life in danger?”
Jessica didn’t respond until Jeval repeated the query. Then, “She was sold to satisfy a debt. Private sale. Private debt. The buyer wanted to see her suffer. Watch her pain. I took her to the seamstress before the circuit could be flipped. I thought she’d become an under dweller and that would satisfy the buyer. That she would suffer enough there.”<
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Clara’s mouth dropped open. She whispered, “That is why they beat her so severely and put her on that ship to Narnlia! She went against the government!”
Renall gave her a nod but didn’t answer. He leaned forward, listening intently as Jeval asked, “Why did they wipe your mind? Why did they take her memories?’
Jessica answered. “They didn’t. I did. I used a black market contact to try to remove the circuit when I realized she would die and that the suffering they wanted was far more. I knew what the ship really did. Brides. They call them brides. But they are not brides. They are chattel and often killed in horrific ways for the pleasure of Magna beasts.”
Renall gasped. Clara stepped back. Jeval stared back at them, his mouth hanging ajar and horror showing on his face. “Magna beasts? It is forbidden to fight the Magna beasts now.”
“They do though, and they bait them with the bodies of the women who do not do well in the brothels. They don’t want me to know. The government would be overthrown if the secrets I hold were known.”
Jeval asked, “What other secrets do you know?”
“I don’t know. But her, I do know. Because…because I was wiped before I was taken to the ship, but it was too hasty. I saw her there. Saw her. Knew. In my head but not—I did not know on the bottom of my brain.”
Jeval said, “I think that is as far as I can go with her now.’
Renall nodded. Jeval brought Jessica back. Clara asked, “What do we do now?”
Renall said, “You go to the hall and take your table.”
She searched his face. “You had Marik gas me so you could find out if I was a cycle spy, didn’t you? You somehow knew there was one and you wanted to know if it was me. You had my chip removed so you could test my fluid.”
His eyes dropped away from hers, telling her everything she needed to know. Ire filled her. “How dare you? Why did you simply not tell me you were going to have it done?”
“Because we had no idea if you were the cycle spy. If you were, we could not let those who were watching know that we knew.”
Her chin thrust out. “I would say that they know now.”
His eyes snapped back to hers. “Yes, they do. They also know that we are criminals now too. That means that the Federation can confiscate everything we have gained over the last centuries.”
Her eyes widened. She had not considered that. “You still should have told me. I woke up wondering if all of it, all that happened last evening, was a dream.”
“I am sorry for that.”
His words held no emotion. Just like that, he shut her out. Again. Clara looked away then from his face. She managed a deep breath. “You do know that if you had trusted me enough to tell me about all of this in the first place, maybe it would not have gone this far.”
Renall’s lips flattened. “Clara, this is not the time for that conversation.”
She had no doubt that he would never want to have that conversation with her. Why would he? He did not trust her any more than she trusted him.
She turned and walked out of the room, away from the stench of death and toward her chamber. By the time she reached the hallway, she was running as fast as she could.
Chapter 13 - Renall
Jeval let Talon take Jessica out of the room. Renall watched them go. He said, “What is going on with them?”
Jeval said, “He admires her courage. Much like you admire Clara’s.”
If there was censure in Jeval’s voice, Renall didn’t hear it. But he did hear a little innate knowledge. He said, “There is nothing between us. She’s a carder, and a good one. She works in the hall.”
Jeval didn’t bother saying anything to that. Marik and Talon eventually returned. Marik announced that Dana was sleeping and all of her wipes and implants were still in place. They all stood staring at each other. Renall said, “You do know we have to leave here? We have been spied upon by a government that would be more than happy to collect a bounty and now they know that we know too.”
Talon’s face wore a livid expression. “What do you suggest?”
Renall said, “We have to move forward. The planet is not ready, but we can make do. We have to evade the Federation’s grasp. The faster we get out of their grasp, the better off we will be.”
All his siblings nodded in agreement. Jeval asked, “How soon can we liquidate everything and get the purchase done?”
Renall blew out a long breath. “The planet is easy enough to buy. No Federation means simple agreements. I can transfer the credits now. The hall—well, that Habbit has wanted to buy it for a few star cycles now. I can transfer it with a signature and a credit release from the wire system. We have to vote.”
Jeval said, “I vote we sell and go.”
Talon said, “I agree, but I am not going to go to the planet yet.”
Marik shook his head. “We don’t need to wreck now. The Federation will be all over us now that they know what we do and are. Our only hope is to evade them by staying off the radar. You are going to need to code that sale.” His brows drew together. “I do hope you have been using off sat-com telecalls to communicate over all of the details.”
Renall’s spine stiffened. “Of course.”
Talon spoke softly. “It would hardly matter if he had not. The grav-pull to the north distorts and deflects all comm from there, and you know it. Besides, Morilan has always been wary and encrypted all signals, plus he uses a deflecting shield to bounce it into the grav-pull as well.”
Renall said, “So we all agree?”
Marik said, “Not only do we agree, we all agree it must be now. We cannot afford to wait.”
Talon rubbed a finger along his nose. “Supposing they set out after the first transmission from the other ship, they would still be weeks away, and so we have a slight head start, but just a slight one. Still, it would be best to do everything as secretively as possible.”
Renall felt a sudden sense of loss. He had never cared for Orbitary and never would. What he did care for was Clara, and he knew that not only was he about to pull up stakes and leave, but he was about to leave her behind.
Chapter 14 - Renall
The hall was packed. A whole fleet of small ships had carried in pleasure seekers from all corners of the galaxy, and they had credits to spend and a willingness to be parted from them.
Clara’s mind was not on the game. Her mood was low and her body tired. Her mind wandered, a dangerous thing, but she could not stop it from moving restlessly as she dealt and smiled and played hand after hand.
She won enough and was smart enough to fold when the pot was growing too large and the stakes too high. As she surveyed yet another bad hand, she found herself admitting that folding was her best bet, and not just on that hand.
On Renall.
How dare he offer to make her his mistress? How dare he even assume that that was all she would want from him, or that his argument that that was the most logical thing to do would hold weight?
I should have slapped his head right off his shoulders, she fumed as she laid her cards on the table to show she was out. She kept just enough of her attention on the game to deal well and to keep the table lively. Outwardly, she was calm and laughing and fun. Inside, she was furious and still shaken by the day’s events.
Lois’ death had been awful, but she had seen much worse. She had even seen people much closer to her than Lois was die, and badly. But something about the whole thing made her even angrier than ever.
Her government. It was so wrong, and yet it held all the power. That was unfair. Her attention was diverted away from all those thoughts by the sight of a Terestrial taking a seat at her table. Her ire notched upward. She waited until the hand was done to speak. She leaned across the table, eyes focused on the loathsome creature.
She said, “Listen to me. I have been skull scraped once and if you even act like you are about to open your mouth to do that, I’ll annihilate you. I mean it. Don’t even breathe at a high pitch.”
Th
e creature gave her a wounded look, but she was not fooled. More than one of his kind had thrown a tantrum that resulted in the injury of both dealers and patrons, and their own death. Not only was she not fooled, she was unamused at the idea of adding a skull scraping to her already shitty day.
The creature settled in. The in bet was a hundred credits. The game began. Clara kept a wary eye on it, grateful to have something else to focus on. She finally managed to get her attention solidly into the moment and to actually enjoy the play again.
The pot grew with each flip of the cards. A few rubes bought in on the next hand, and one of them was a fumbler.
Clara spotted that instantly. She looked around the table, wondering if anyone else had noticed or recognized what he was.
She regarded him carefully. Definitely human. Definitely a fumbler.
He seemed vaguely familiar as well, though she could have sworn she had never seen his face before. She studied his features more carefully, a frown trying to erupt between her brows as she did so. He looked up and caught her eyes. She deliberately relaxed the muscles of her face, not letting any emotion other than a pleasant smile mar her face.
A fumbler was a player who faked being inexperienced and overeager. Some played the role in too heavy-handed a way. Not this man. He was adept at it. He was also incredibly subtle. Clara had to admit she was impressed. She ran a small bluff and watched his face carefully, and his body too. It was easy to see he was watching her in return, and learning her style way too fast even as he lost the third hand he had set into in a row.
Clara hadn’t survived so many years of illegal carding by not knowing when she was being summed up, and so she deliberately began to insert small tells here and there. Tiny. Unnoticed by the other players.
He began to show a few as well. She didn’t believe a single one of them were real. Or were they? Perhaps he was starting to show his nerves as well. Or letting his real tells show because he knew she was making his con in the hopes that when they showed later, she would think them a bluff.
The game ended. The man she’d been watching so carefully won the small pot. The others began to drift off, but he stayed on. Fresh players came and went. The hours passed. Her body began to cramp. The pots got bigger. She won three out of ten. He took two. Very modest pots, but an advantage.